I am starting today’s post with thoughts of Christmas but without an idea on which direction to take it. Do we talk about traditions, gratitude, reflection…or do I just wish you a merry one and call it good? That last one feels a little phoned-in. Let’s start with reflection and see where this goes.

I spent last Sunday with my daughter traipsing around Boise and eventually ending our trip in Nampa to wish my mom a happy birthday. It was a really good day. Lots of laughing, good conversation, and joy. One of our favorite places to go is the mall for nostalgic reasons. When the kids were little this is where I would take them on a “ditch day”. I thought they were necessary on occassion and it was great one-on-one time with each of them.

We saw lots of things we would like as we wandered through Pottery Barn and Williams Sanoma. We dreamed about our perfect kitchens, the beautiful dinner parties we would host, even the way we would decorate the house in every season; it was fun. None of it really felt like Christmas though, save the long lines in every store. I assume there was Christmas music on in the stores we visited but I didn’t hear it, even the line for Santa didn’t give me any of those Jingle Bell vibes I usually get the week before this momentous holiday.

The truth is, our family is a bit disjointed right now. Our kids are grown and their need for us or this holiday doesn’t look the same as it did in years past. It was their energy that drove us to make Christmas the most wonderful time of the year. We retired the Advent Calendar this year, that was a little hard. I think I still have the jingle bell that was passed on to a different child each Christmas though. There is a definite change in our house this holiday season.

We’ve had moments of Christmas in our house but it certainly hasn’t been an entire season of it and I am not sure I mind it. There will come a time when our house will be full again but right now I think we are meant to be quiet. To let the changes that have happened and are still happening sink in and be celebrated. We raised three wonderful humans that have the good sense to only ask for two or three things on their Christmas list. My husband, by the way, is struggling with that one. The fact that we have bought so little for them this year has him a little grumpy but they are getting exactly what they put on their lists so I am good with it. They, and we, will be truly gratiful for what we’re given. The best we can do is be hopeful for the upcoming year and that those changes will be less painful.

I guess I chose a theme after all; gratitude. It is, along with hope, what makes the world go round. We have what we need, we have each other, and we have a beautiful Christmas tree that I can sit quietly with on Christmas morning. There are blessings all around and I bet, if you look even with slight effort, that you’ll see them too. 

I really do wish you a merry Christmas but if it cannot be that then I wish you one with hope. The hope that December 26th will arrive quickly, that your daily life will resume, and that the thought of next Christmas will always find a smile on your face.

Merry Christmas friend.